Olympics planning 'a mathematical challenge'

London hosted the Olympic Games in 2012

The woman responsible for putting together the London 2012 Olympic Games timetable said it was "good fun".

Helen Daltry, from Cranham in Gloucestershire, was an adviser to UK Sport on major events and had helped organise world championships for a variety of sports in the UK before the Olympics.

"There is an awful lot [going on] behind the scenes, so what you actually see when you turn on the Olympics for those two weeks is the culmination of years and years of work, and a lot of people," she said.

"I was lucky I was the only person writing the timetable [in 2012]."

Helen had an important role in the London Olympics Games

Planning for the 2012 Olympics started many years before London's bid was successful.

The London bid team had to choose venues for each sport as part of the planning.

"We did a feasibility about two years even before London started the bid as to whether sports could be done," said Ms Daltry.

"You have to look at things like is the public transport going to be open enough, does it get to that venue, how long does it take people to get in? You don't want a crush of everybody at the same time," she said.

Ms Daltry said the UK is "great" at hosting major sporting events.

"I just think Britain is so good at staging things. We've now got the confidence that we do these things well.

"What I am proud of is that we can stage big high-profile televised events, but actually, we are also conscious that a lot of those governing bodies and the Olympics are putting money into grassroots sports," she said.

The Paris Olympic Games will start on 26 July, and last for two and a half weeks.

"There is something about being part of it, knowing what is going on, and making it happen that's very satisfying," said Ms Daltry.

"I really had a great pleasure working behind the scenes.

"I was very fortunate to spend my working life in sports, I saw a lot of people before they became the stars they were," she added.

But Ms Daltry said she is looking forward to watching this year's Olympics from the comfort of her home instead of being involved